This disclosure generally relates to soil sample collection and analysis, and more particularly to a soil sampler that can be operated manually or automatically.
Soil samples (usually the top 7 inches or so of the topsoil) are taken from farm fields and sent to a soil analysis lab to analyze the different soil nutrients contained in the sample. This analysis is used to determine the correct amount of nutrients to apply to farm fields. In the past, the process of collecting the soil sample was a slow tedious job done by using a hand probe. Recently some automation has been added to soil sampler equipment to remove some of the handwork, but none have significantly increased the speed of sampling. The disclosed system removes the hand labor, plus sampling time has been greatly decreased.
As an agronomist specializing in soil fertility I have noticed there is considerable variation of nutrient content as samples are taken across farm fields. The only way to be able to accurately measure this variability is to increase the number of samples being taken within a field. With the disclosed auto sampler the time required to collect the samples has been greatly reduced. We can now collect many more samples per field per hour, therefore greatly improving our ability to accurately measure the variability without increasing our labor to collect the samples. With accurate nutrient maps our customers need only apply nutrients where needed, reducing environmental risk and improving their profitability.